


Lafayette

by Jhonni



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannigram - AU fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Angst, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hannibal Loves Will, Hannigram - Freeform, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, New Orleans, Post-Canon, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, Sappy Ending, Will Loves Hannibal, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 17:01:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7396036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jhonni/pseuds/Jhonni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the fall, Hannibal left the beach alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lafayette

The kitchen was in full swing with the weekend tourist crowd. A sharp voice called out above the clatter of pans. “I need that catfish at the pass.” The sous chef slouched with relief at passing inspection. A bowl of mussels with tomatoes and leeks came next. Hannibal breathed the briny steam, synapses firing. Just like that he was gone. Again. 

Will stood at the altar bathed in candlelight. Music swelled. Those eyes. That smile. Sometimes Hannibal could still feel the air cushioning his fall, the moment that Will slipped away. Winding up in New Orleans wasn’t happenstance. It was simply the only way he could stay close. He limited his visits to once a month. The roses were always fresh from his garden.

“Chef.” A cold shudder dropped Hannibal into the present. “Table twelve is complaining about his steak. Said he wants to talk to the chef.”

Hannibal took a deep breath. Perhaps just this once he should be grateful for the distraction. Neatly smoothing his coat, he glided through the dining room unmoved by the buzzing energy. “Sir. I understand there’s a problem.” Standing tall, he clasped his hands behind his back. 

The menu lowered slowly. Blue eyes met his. “Hello, Hannibal.”

Hannibal’s blood drained. Roots spread from his feet. The only thing that kept him from dissolving while waves ravaged him. Joy. Anger. Will folded his hands in his lap, far too poised for a man who had just risen from the grave. “Are you going to join me?”

Heart thundering, Hannibal’s coat pulled across his chest. His throat closed tight. The look in his eyes threatened to set Will on fire. To burn the restaurant around him. The whole world. Will shifted under the weight of it. He slid a keycard across the white tablecloth. “I thought that might be the case.” Napkin tossed down, he stood decisively. “The Ritz. Room 344.”

Watching him walk away, Hannibal saw it all happen again. The pain crested high over his head. Two years of lying with every breath he took. Forcing himself to believe the lesser of evils. He stared blindly at the blue and gold card, waiting for it to disappear.

“He didn’t pay.” 

Hannibal didn’t look up. A haunted voice climbed out like a spirit. “No. He left that for me.”

That night he had a glass of wine for the first time in two years. The rest of the bottle followed. Well after closing, he found himself kneeling beside Will’s headstone, tracing the date of his death. The date Will left him on the beach. It felt like yesterday and a lifetime ago. Questions he’d fought to silence chased around his mind. 

“Looking for me?”

His heart stopped. Everything stopped with it. The wind moving through his hair. The sound of his breathing. 

“I thought it would be vulgar to come here during the day.” Will crossed his arms over his chest. He took in the rows of ornate crypts. Something quietly beautiful about them in the moonlight. Families laid to rest together. “Would you rather I died?”

Will’s voice washed over him. Hannibal clutched for his anger. He tried to remember the slow crawl out of the sea. Watching and waiting while his blood darkened the sand. 

“I didn’t plan it if that’s what you think.” 

The distance between them stretched thin the farther it pulled. Will forced himself to recall the moment the water birthed him into a new life. How much he wanted to scream for Hannibal. Achingly ready to fly. His old life an anchor. Dead but not severed. Straddling a line sharp enough to cut him in two if he let it. If he just lay there. 

“I missed you.” 

The warmth in Will’s voice curled inside him. He swallowed around unshed tears. This was the chance he never thought he would have. An opportunity to ask why. Why did you leave me. Why didn’t you trust me. Why didn’t you love me enough. He stared at his hands. “I missed you too.” 

Will knelt down beside him. “I know.” Hannibal looked up slowly. He breathed in Will’s presence. Trying to purge the bitterness. They had forgiven each other so many transgressions. What was it all for if not for this. His eyes moved over the raised skin on Will’s cheek, barely visible in the dark.

“You don’t cover your scar.” 

Will grabbed for the words like a lifeline.“I never wanted to pretend it didn’t happen. I never wanted to deny you.” He saw a glimmer of light. He wanted to run towards it. There would never be any solace for the two years he spent lost and broken. That would always be his cross alone. His heart sank in his chest. His voice too earnest but he couldn’t stop. “You can ask me anything you want. You can hit me. You can tell me you never want to see me again.” 

Fear closed around Hannibal like a prison cell. He couldn’t breathe. “I don’t want you to go.” 

Will gave up any pretense of control, surrendering to desperation. “What do you want? What can I do?” 

Hannibal’s eyes went soft with wonder. All the anger and resentment suddenly seemed far away. There was no answer he needed. Only one he had to give. “I want you.” 

A sharp breath jumped from Will’s throat. He brushed a tear from Hannibal’s cheek. His life stretched out before him. “You have me.” 

Hannibal trembled at the first strains of music. He brought his lips close. “I still haven’t kissed you.”

“I think it’s time. Don’t you?” Will shivered.

The sun breached the horizon with pink and gold light. A shadow stretched from Will’s headstone. “Here?” 

“Seems fitting.” He nudged Hannibal’s nose. “Kiss me, Hannibal. And don’t stop.”

“Never,” Hannibal breathed. He tasted the future. Full and sweet. Will pressed into the kiss, pulling him down. The scent of roses bloomed. Will felt the wind at his back. He held on. 

“You two seem old enough to know better.” 

Will huffed as Hannibal dropped heavy against him. He gave a weak smile. “It’s a special occasion.”

The groundskeeper looked them over. “Tours start at nine.”

“Got it.” Will watched him shake his head and walk away. He turned to see Hannibal smiling. “Where were we.”

Their hearts notched. Hannibal kissed along his neck, warm with daybreak. “Right where we belong.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've characterized this as an AU because I don't really believe it would happen, i.e., that either would leave the beach without the other. In my mind, it's definitely a "what if" scenario.
> 
> Visit me on Tumblr at lecteronthelam (Hannibal Lecter rp) and acutehypersensitivity (Will Graham rp)


End file.
